


never directly except for now

by masked



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Canon Compliant, Dean Winchester Being Dean Winchester, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-09-07 04:17:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16846966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masked/pseuds/masked
Summary: “I love you,” says Dean, just as Cas walks into the room. Cas stops dead in his tracks, and stares at him, rigid in place as he holds his breath for just a second, eyes wide and disbelieving while he digests Dean’s words.Dean licks his lips, and resolutely fixes his eyes on the beer bottle he’s holding. His heart absolutely pounds out of his chest. Dean takes a swig of his beer with shaky hands, and makes a satisfying noise. He smiles at the bottle. “God, I love you.”





	never directly except for now

**Author's Note:**

> originally posted on May 5, 2018 [here](http://hamburgergod.tumblr.com/post/173585340603/i-love-you-says-dean-just-as-cas-walks-into).

“I love you,” says Dean, just as Cas walks into the room. Cas stops dead in his tracks, and stares at him, rigid in place as he holds his breath for just a second, eyes wide and disbelieving while he digests Dean’s words.

Dean licks his lips, and resolutely fixes his eyes on the beer bottle he’s holding. His heart absolutely pounds out of his chest. Dean takes a swig of his beer with shaky hands, and makes a satisfying noise. He smiles at the bottle. “God, I love you.”

Cas narrows his eyes this time, and his shoulders slouch back down. He grabs what he came into the kitchen for, and leaves.

Dean lets out a shuddering breath. He looks at the door Cas disappeared out of.

The words get stuck in his throat.

The next time is at the garage when Dean is checking up on his baby. He hears Cas, all righteous and quick in his steps, and Dean says out loud, “I love you.”

Cas pauses, just for a second. 

Dean runs his palm along his baby’s smooth frame. “I love you so much,” he says, Cas just behind him. Watching him.

Cas clears his throat. “Dean?”

Dean glances over his shoulder. Cas doesn’t notice the way Dean’s fingers turn white against the hood of his car.

“Sam’s looking for you.”

Cas shifts his weight on his feet, waiting for something. Dean finds the words at the tip of his tongue.

Dean nods. “Thanks,” he croaks.

Cas nods in response, and walks away again.

Dean swallows down the words.

It continues for a while. Dean tries out the words in his mouth, tasting the way they’re shaped by his tongue, measuring the precise weight they hold as they pass through his throat every time Cas enters the room. Never at Cas. Just, out loud, when Cas happens to be in the room. 

Cas leaves him to it. If he notices the recent frequency of Dean confessing to inanimate objects and how fucking weird it might be, he doesn’t say anything.

Dean finds himself heading to the kitchen for late lunch one day. He might fix something quick for everyone in the bunker since he figures nobody else has eaten, too. Instead, he finds Cas sitting at the kitchen table, who upon Dean’s arrival, announces, “I love you.”

Dean freezes at his spot.

Cas is holding a sandwich. 

“I love every aspect of you, no matter how lacking you think you are, or how undeserving,” Cas continues, his voice firm and steady. To the sandwich, Dean’s sure. “No matter what we might go through in the future, know that I’ll be with you, always. Know that you’ll always have me by your side.”

Something quivers inside Dean’s chest. “Reciting poetry to your sandwich?” 

Cas looks up slowly, and meets his eyes, pinning him in place. He takes a bite of his sandwich, and chews without further comment.

Dean gulps. Dean makes his own sandwich, not even remembering the toppings he put on it, and makes a break for his room. 

The next morning, Dean wakes up later than everyone else in the bunker. Not much sleep to get after something like that. Instead of bothering to find out if people are around to eat with him, he heads straight to the kitchen to cook himself some breakfast. 

Cas is there, drinking a cup of coffee. Dean’s not awake enough for this. 

Cas must notice, because he doesn’t try to talk to Dean, doesn’t even bother asking him before he hands Dean a mug of his own, and their fingers brush as he hands him the cup of coffee. Dean takes in the warmth of the cup that radiates into his palms, and he looks at Cas in front of him who’s so casually leaning against his kitchen counter, and slips out, “I love you.”

Cas pauses with his cup halfway up to his lips, and he slowly brings it down. He smiles fondly, and god, it’s so much, but Dean’s glad he practiced thousands of times before this, and in thousands of different ways before this. 

“I love you, too,” Cas says, his eyes fixed on Dean. “Drink your coffee.”

Dean complies.


End file.
